Mongolia protests Japanese kids' cartoon mocking Genghis Khan

February 24, 2018 (Mainichi Japan)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Mongolia lodged a diplomatic protest with Japan on Friday after a monthly comic magazine aimed at children included a picture of national hero Genghis Khan with a crude sketch of male genitalia across his forehead.

The comic's publisher Shogakukan Inc. apologized Friday evening in a meeting with Dambadarjaa Batjargal, the charge d'affaires at Mongolia's embassy in Tokyo.

Earlier the embassy protested to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, saying the cartoon "lacks respect for the Mongolian people."

"We deeply apologize for causing offense to all those who revere Genghis Khan," Shogakukan said in a statement on its website.

The founder of the Mongol Empire is a symbol of national identity in Mongolia, all the more so in recent years because of suppression during the country's communist era prior to the 1990s.

The March edition of the comic magazine went on sale in Japan on Feb. 15.